Privacy Policy

1. Data Controller

Risingshadow is responsible for personal information processed through Risingshadow.net in the circumstances described in this Privacy Policy. Risingshadow is based in Finland and is subject to applicable Finnish and European Union data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

If you have questions about privacy or the processing of your personal information, you can contact us using the address above.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Account information

When you create a Risingshadow account, we may process information such as:

• your email address;
• your name or username;
• account and authentication information;
• information you choose to add to your profile;
• your account settings and preferences.

2.2 Bookshelf and activity information

When you use your bookshelf or other personalized features, we store information necessary to provide those features. This may include:

• books and shelves you add to your bookshelf;
• book ratings;
• book reviews and comments;
• reading challenges and related activity;
• other selections and information you choose to save through the Service.

This information is used to provide the relevant features and may also be used to generate personalized book recommendations and other book-discovery features.

2.3 Content you publish

We process content that you publish or submit through the Service, including discussion posts, book reviews, comments, and information or corrections submitted for inclusion in the Risingshadow database.

Some of this content is public and may be visible to other users, visitors, search engines, and other services that index publicly available web pages.

2.4 Technical and log information

When you use Risingshadow, our servers may automatically record technical information. This may include:

• IP address;
• browser and device type;
• operating system;
• pages requested and the date and time of requests;
• technical error and security logs.

This information is primarily used to operate and secure the Service, investigate technical problems, detect abuse, and protect Risingshadow and its users.

3. How We Use Personal Information

We process personal information only where there is an appropriate purpose and legal basis for doing so. Information may be used to:

• create and maintain user accounts;
• provide bookshelves and other personalized features;
• generate personalized book recommendations;
• display ratings, reviews, comments, and discussions;
• operate, analyze, and improve the Service;
• investigate technical problems;
• maintain security and prevent abuse;
• send notifications and communications requested by users;
• comply with applicable legal obligations.

4. Legal Bases for Processing

Depending on the circumstances, we may process personal information on one or more of the following legal bases:

5. Newsletters and Notifications

Risingshadow may send registered users email notifications according to their preferences, including newsletters and notifications relating to books, authors, series, discussions, or other features they choose to follow.

You can manage optional email communications through your account settings or by using an unsubscribe option provided in the message, where applicable.

We may still send essential service communications relating to your account, security, or significant changes to the Service when necessary.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Risingshadow uses cookies and similar technologies to operate the Service and provide website functionality.

6.1 Essential cookies

Essential cookies may be used for purposes such as maintaining login sessions, security, remembering settings, and providing functionality requested by the user. Some parts of the Service may not function correctly without these cookies.

6.2 Analytics

We may use Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors use Risingshadow and how the Service can be improved. Non-essential analytics cookies are used in accordance with the cookie choices available to the user.

You can manage non-essential cookies through the cookie settings provided on the website.

7. Third-Party Services

Risingshadow may use third-party service providers to support the technical operation of the Service, analytics, email delivery, authentication, and other functionality.

These providers may process personal information only to the extent necessary to provide the relevant services. We seek to use service providers that handle personal information appropriately and in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

7.1 Third-party authentication

Risingshadow may allow users to sign in using an external authentication provider, such as Google. When you choose to use such a sign-in method, the provider may send us account information necessary to identify and authenticate your Risingshadow account.

The information received depends on the authentication service and the permissions requested at the time of sign-in. The external provider processes information according to its own privacy policy.

8. Sharing and Disclosure of Information

Personal information may be disclosed or made available for processing only where reasonably necessary, including:

• to service providers necessary for operating the Service;
• to comply with applicable legal obligations;
• in response to a valid request from a competent authority;
• to protect the rights and safety of Risingshadow, its users, or others;
• to investigate fraud, abuse, or security threats.

9. International Data Transfers

Risingshadow's own server environment is located in Finland. However, some third-party service providers may process personal information outside Finland or outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

Where personal information is transferred outside the EEA, we take appropriate measures to ensure that the transfer has a lawful basis and appropriate safeguards as required by applicable data protection law.

10. Data Retention

Personal information is retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it is processed or as required by applicable law.

Information associated with a user account is generally retained while the account remains active. When an account is deleted, personal information is deleted or anonymized unless there is a legitimate or legal reason to retain particular information.

Technical and security logs may be retained for a limited period for security, troubleshooting, fraud prevention, and abuse prevention.

11. Account Deletion and Public Content

You may delete your Risingshadow account using the account management features provided by the Service.

When your account is deleted, personal information associated with the account will be deleted or anonymized where there is no other lawful basis for retaining it.

Discussion posts, book reviews, and other content that forms part of community discussions or the informational content of the Service may remain after account deletion in order to preserve the integrity and continuity of discussions, reviews, and database content. Such content may be displayed without an active profile linked to the deleted account.

12. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal information against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, and disclosure.

These measures include encrypted web connections, access controls, and other security practices appropriate to the operation of the Service. Passwords are not stored in readable form.

No internet-based service can guarantee absolute security, but we continually seek to maintain appropriate protections for the information entrusted to us.

13. Your Privacy Rights

If the GDPR applies to the processing of your personal information, you may have the following rights, depending on the circumstances:

• the right to receive information about how your personal information is processed;
• the right to access personal information held about you;
• the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• the right to request deletion of personal information;
• the right to request restriction of processing;
• the right to object to certain processing based on legitimate interests;
• the right to data portability where applicable;
• the right to withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.

These rights are not absolute and do not apply in every situation. Whether a particular right applies depends on factors including the legal basis and purpose of the processing.

For more information about your rights under the GDPR and how to exercise them, please see our GDPR and Your Personal Data page.

To exercise your privacy rights, contact us at support@risingshadow.net.

14. Complaints and Supervisory Authorities

If you believe that your personal information has been processed in violation of applicable data protection law, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a competent data protection supervisory authority.

Risingshadow is based in Finland, where the supervisory authority is the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman.

Depending on where you live, you may also have the right to contact the data protection authority in your country of residence.

15. Children's Privacy

You must be at least 13 years old to create a Risingshadow account.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the minimum age required to create an account. If we become aware that such an account has been created or that personal information has been provided in violation of this requirement, we will take appropriate steps to address the situation.

16. Links to Other Websites

Risingshadow contains links to websites and services operated by third parties, including publishers, authors, retailers, and other external services.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to the processing of personal information by those third parties. We recommend reviewing the privacy policy of an external service before providing personal information to it.

17. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when necessary, including when the Service, our service providers, our data processing practices, or applicable laws change.

Where changes materially affect how we process personal information, we will provide appropriate notice through the Service where required. The date of the most recent update is shown at the beginning of this policy.

18. Contact Us